Workers in Illinois will see the state’s minimum wage increase beginning next year, the final scheduled increase after six years.
When the state passed a new minimum wage bill in 2019, the minimum hourly pay rate was $8.00 per hour. The rate of pay increased each year after the bill was passed, with the final increase set to take place on January 1, 2025.
Currently in the state of Illinois, the minimum wage for workers 18 years of age or older is $14 per hour. On January 1, that rate will increase to $15 per hour, according to state law.
Workers under the age of 18 have a slightly lower minimum wage, which currently sits at $12 per hour. Beginning on January 1, that rate will increase to $13 per hour, also the final time that rate is currently scheduled to increase.
According to state law, tipped workers must be paid a minimum of 60% of the state’s minimum wage, which currently means those workers are paid $8.40 per hour.
There has not yet been a bill passed that would increase the wage again, and it is unclear if such a bill will be considered by the General Assembly in 2025.
Workers in the city of Chicago are paid slightly more under the minimum wage ordinance. That legislation currently mandates employees to be paid a minimum of $16.20 per hour, or $11.02 per hour if they are tipped workers.
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Under the law, the city’s minimum wage increases each year according to the Consumer Price Index or a flat rate of 2.5%, whichever is lower, according to the Business Affairs and Consumer Protection office.
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